If the muscles supporting your knee are not strong, flexible and balanced you are likely to injure your knee by tearing or straining a ligament, tendon or muscle. Physical therapists recommend specific stretches and strength training exercises to rehabilitate knee injuries, sometimes in addition to surgery. Many different stretching exercises are possible, so you will need a physical therapist to tell you which exercises to do if you are injured.
Self-stretching for the Knee
Physical therapists teach two types of stretching techniques: mainly self-stretching and stretching with an outside applied force. Self-stretching is no doubt a concept you are already familiar with. You stretch your muscles to decrease tension around the knee on your own. Although you can do this type of stretching without assistance, a physical therapist must teach you the right exercises. For example, lying on your back and pulling one knee toward your chest is a self-stretch. Although you use force from your arms to pull the leg toward you, the force doesn't come from an outside force.
Stretching With an Applied Outside Force
Stretching with an applied outside force is different from self-stretching for a simple reason: a physical therapist assists stretching by pushing or pulling the involved leg during the exercise. This allows you to hold your other leg in a neutral position out of the way. An example is the Ober's stretch. Lie on your right side on a table with your right knee bent and pulled forward. Grab the back of your right thigh with your left arm. Your hip and knee both make right angles. Also, bend your left knee to 90 degrees and extend your leg behind you. Your physical therapist stands behind you and places their right hand on your outer left hip and their left hand on top of your knee, pressing down to extend the stretch. This stretches the left knee. The directions are opposite if the right knee needs stretching.
Main Muscles
The quadriceps and hamstrings are the main muscles that move and support the knees. Therefore, these muscles are usually the ones that require stretching. Women especially have problems with their quads wherein the inner part is weak and outer part is tight. When the quads are tight, it can pull the kneecap out of position. The muscles of the calves, inner thighs and outer thighs as well as the band of fibrous tissues that runs down your outer thighs called the iliotibial bands also affect the stability of your knees.
Considerations
Even though stretching prevents knee injuries, stretching too far may lead to a muscle tear and thus cause an injury. Also move slowly when you stretch -- go to the point of discomfort not pain and never bounce. This reduces your chances of injuring yourself when stretching. You also are less likely to under-stretch if you pay close attention.
